30 January 2013

FOTD: Color me in Coral!

So I've always been a fan of pinks, whether it be lips or cheeks.. It just seemed like it made more sense because 'pink' was just the go-to colour for everyone around me! But lately, I've been hitting up my old favourite lipstick by Sportsgirl called 'Fruit Tingle' (I have swatches and brief reviews of other shades from their line here, if you're interested).

Fruit Tingle is much of a bright and light coral with a slight spice of neon and as I've been reaching for it more.. I've also switched around to coral blushes to match up with the lips (would look silly with coral lips and pink cheeks). Yup. I like everything to match.

So I wore this face out yesterday to Illamasqua's Launch Preview of their upcoming collection called "I'mPerfection" at Myers.. thought I'd snap up a few photos to share with you guys :D


Yup. I'm still into the dewy look! For my base, I've used:
  • Gorgeous Cosmetics Base Perfect Liquid Foundation -- I have a sample sized and this foundation is UNBELIEVABLY matte. Too matte for me, but perfect shade match. I mixed it with..
  • Face Of Australia Liquid Illuminator* -- This saved the foundation and brought some life back into my face! 
  • Smashbox Artificial Light Luminising Lotion -- Used this as a highlighter on my nose bridge, cheekbones and brow bones because FOA's isn't intense enough.
  • Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder -- Just reached for any really, but this is a good, finely milled powder to even out your skintone and not to mention that it photographs so well!
  • Ben Nye Powder Blush in 'Fresh Coral' -- I picked this up at IMATS for $10. Must buy moreeeee. It's super pigmented!
You know that I don't really wear eyeshadows, but I really love to play with eyeliners! For the eyes:
  • Face Of Australia Liquid Eyeliner* -- My go to eyeliner! Review here.
  • Australis 10HR Wear Eyeliner -- A lovely bronze eyeliner that I love to use on my lower lash lines! Doesn't last too long though, so I used...
  • Australis Eyeshadow Primer -- It works!
  • Australis Lash Length Extensions Mascara* -- My favourite mascara! It's a fibre mascara which lengthens and separates for a natural look, but is such a hassle to remove.. Meep.
And I've already mentioned what I used for my lips earlier!


I really like coral lips.. I think I might not return to pink lips for a looooooong while. Maybe!


What colour cheeks and lips do YOU usually sport?
Pretty pinks, corals, reds or maybe berries and purples even?!


I've actually never tried berry or purple colours for my cheeks and lips. Maybe I'll give it a go when fall/winter hits!


Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were provided fro review consideration. All opinions expressed within this post are of my own and remains uninfluenced. Please refer to this site's disclosure policy. 

28 January 2013

A slice of life -- A big duck, yummy things and the not so yummy.

For the past month, life has been treating me SO good! Let me tell ya about it.


On a big duck.
Went with Alice to eat in the city some time ago and we went to see the big duck at Darling Harbour! I think it's there for a festival?

On Instagram photos, it looks quite small.. but holy golly! When we got there and saw it... "OMG. It's sooo big!". We didn't think it was going to be THAT big.

On an upgrade. 
After several months of saving for a new DSLR camera.. I finally managed to save up enough and got myself a Canon EOS 650D! My Canon SX30IS served me real well! I'm still going to be using it to record videos, but yay for new and improved photo quality!

I ordered this from Kogan and they took 3-4 days to ship it out (meh) and from there, it took 3-4 days to get to my front door. Loved their free shipping and tracking service!



On happy news.
I'm happy to announce that... I am PREGNANT! Yeap. You read right........ just kidding. My blog turned 3 not too long ago, and I'm celebrating that with an international giveaway! Later that night, main round offers for universities also came out and I landed myself a spot in a Primary Teaching course! WOO! Yay for no more TAFE! Yay for university!!


On yummy food.
I've been addicted to sushi again. I have been craving fresh salmon sushi rolls way too often! I've pretty much have been pigging out at any sushi bars I cross!


Left: Salmon box and BBQ Eel (which tastes okay).

Right: Tuna rolls, topped with melted cheese and some sauce (not sure what sauce) and another salmon box!




On the not so yummy. Like.. Tampons. 
Our viral video of the week consist of a young girl sucking on her bloody tampon (oh, punny!). I haven't watched the video yet although I'm contemplating to.. only because I wonder if I can handle watching stuff that's THAT gross. Have you watched it?!

It made perfect sense that when she held up her used tampon, she said, "If anyone says this is fake, there's obviously something wrong with you!".... Well. Of course there's something wrong with us.......

I also follow her on Twitter for the lols. Here's some funny tweets by her:


Not sure if she's trolling or if she's facking serious. She sure does enjoy the attention (or hate) everyone is giving her though! Oh.. she also has online "fan" pages and Twitter accounts.. What is this world coming to?


On friends.
Finally got to meet up with my lovely highschool girl friends last weekend! It's been a loooooooong time! We went to eat Ippudo in the city, Japanese food, and it was delicious! I'm going back soon, for sure and I'll make sure to snap up a few photos to share with you guys! :P


That photo is of a dish called shizhibsdodsgis. Na. I don't know. No idea what it's called, but it's eel with rice and it was the yummiest!


On life-changing decisions. 
I have way too many nail polishes! I'm on a roll to blog about them as soon as I could and then give them or sell them away! I'm honestly sick of having too much stuff in my collection that I know I'd never finish!

Afterall, how many red nail polishes do I really need for my 20 phalanges?



Oh~ Speaking of nails, I've swatched Australis' New Glitter Top Coats and OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand if you're interested!

That is all! Off to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and my lasagne in this rainy Sydney weather! Hope everyone who's situated in Aussie is enjoying their long weekend!

Stay safe! xx

26 January 2013

Saturday/Sunday Steals #28: The most awesome haul ever.

Okkkkkkkkkk! So I haven't stopped going to the markets! I've just stopped posting about it because I've only been purchasing a few products here and there each week so it's really not enough to put together for a post!

But it's been a few weeks of hoarding now, so here's what I have since two to three weeks ago..


Sunday markets (Trash & Treasure) are the best! I picked up:
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Colour in 'White Off' -- $2. The consistency seems perfect for nail art! The whites I have at home are all thick, gloopy and disgusting.
  • OPI Lacquer in 'Sparrow Me The Drama' -- $1. Thrifted this in a random box full of crap.
  • Rubi Nail Polish in 'Pina Coladas' -- $1. Already have this at home, but it was too cheap to pass up so this is going in my 'beauty bag for friends'! :P


Over the weeks, I've also collected some Sportsgirl Nail Polishes..
  • Hello Sunshine! -- $2. An extremely bright yellow.. one of the many nail polishes that I purchase only for blogging purposes.
  • Mermaid -- $1. A very pretty aqua with shimmers. Keep this one!
  • WOW -- $2. Bold punch of purple. Purchased this for blogging purposes also, but I think my Mum will like it!

Now.. moving onto the 'awesome' part of this post... I seriously would never expect to find my favourite brand at the markets............ Let me tell ya now.. My jaw dropped when I walked pass a basket FULL of heavily discounted Australis products!!

Although I've never been a fan of Australis' nail polishes (from the ones I've tried anyways), I decided to purchase 3 because they were SO cheap! They were $1 each! 


Across is Blue Tiger, Titania and Satine. I still can't believe the girl were selling these for $1! She was also selling Napoleon Perdis brush sets (that she said she bought for $70-$75) for $20!


From her, I also picked up:
  • Australis' Lipstick in 'Salsa' -- $4. This is one of my favourite pink lipstick, so when  I just had to get it since it was so cheap anyways! 
  • Australis Eye Pencils in 'Grape Cake' -- $2 each. I already have this at home, but as they were so cheap.. I'm going to be giving these away to friends.. :)


Last products from her stall were these two Mineral 'High Lights' Face Highlighters in Gold and Pearl! I've always wanted to try these... Here's FINALLY a chance and they were only $4 each!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, the best market haul ever! I'm hoping she'll come by the markets again next week! 

OK. Now for the last product of the post.. It's pretty unnecessary for me. You can full tell that I'm a hoarder because I can't see myself bringing this into use anytime soon.......



Bellapierre's 9 Stack Shimmer Pigments in 'Bella'. The shades look gorgeous, but I have no idea what i'll do with this.. I'll probably end up making nail polishes by mixing it with a top coat.. Most likely. 

I searched this product up and it retailed for a whopping $99.95 on their official website.. I got this at the markets for $2. Cheers!

OVERALL, I'm super happy with the Australis products I purchased! They were so cheap! I hope this doesn't happen too often or I'll be forever broke...

If you are wondering which markets I go to.. I go to Sydney's Paddy's Markets in Flemington on Saturdays (great for thrifting clothes and shoes) and Trash & Treasure in Prestons on Sundays (they also have branches in Melbourne, check their official website).

24 January 2013

NEW Australis Glitter Nail Polishes -- Milky Way, Space Jam, Glitter Strikes Back Swatches!

I seriously have a problem guys! A nail polish hoarding problem! >_<! I was reading sleepandwater yesterday and crossed her latest post on an Australis' nail polish. A glitter nail polish, that is! I usually don't care for Australis' nail polishes too much because in my experience, they are gloopy, thick and overpriced.

But today, after seeing her swatches on 'Milky Way', I quickly got ready and made a trip to Priceline.. Sigh. I picked up all three newly released glitter babies... Super sigh!

Milky Way, Space Jam, Glitter Strikes Back

My friend (a boy) with was with me said that Milky Way looks like a milky vomit (LOL) and Space Jam looks like diarrhoea LOL... Boys oh boys!

Anyways, lets put those gross stuff aside. I have something to say about each of these glitter polishes as their formula isn't very consistent, so let's get straight into swatching and all!

Space Jam

Space Jam has a dark purple plum base with added blue hex glitters and tiny fuchsia rounds. Lots of glitter is great, but I actually find that this one is packed with too much glitter for its sheerness so when I tried to build up on the opacity, the blue glitters layers over each other and becomes disgustingly thick... not to mention that the nail polish itself is already on the thicker side.

3 coats

One coat of this picks up way too much glitter for me, but if you're still keen bean on this one then I'd suggest using it as a top coat over a dark base instead of trying to build up its opacity.

I did have high hopes for this because its released press image is super pretty.. But in reality after, the plum colour of this nail polish is actually too dark for the lovely blue and fuchsia glitters to be seen.

Meep. Super meep.


Glitter Strikes Back

Glitter Strikes Back reminds me ALOT of Halloween! It consists of orange, yellow-to-gold, purple and fuchsia hex glitters on a clear base coat! Unlike Space Jam (thank Buddha!), it has the perfect consistency so you can definitely do layering with this without it looking overly thick. I get a fair amount of glitters on the first coat so I won't be layering, but if you prefer less or more glitters, it doesn't take much effort to adjust the amount of glitters at all!

2 coats

I'm happy with everything about Glitter Strikes Back so I'd recommend this one if you fancy it! My favourite combination is with the black base.. it really does remind me of Halloween! You?

Ok! Leaving the best to last baby!

Milky Way!!! Lookin' pretty and cute in the bottle there you little thing! ;D

Milky Way looks alot like a blue-toned white, but I'm pretty sure that it's just the teeny tiny blue glitters that's playin' tricks! On my nails, it is more of a dull-white with gold, green, purple, fuchsia, blue, white and orange hex glitters.. pretty eh?

6 coats

I personally don't know too much about jelly finishes so I can't tell you whether this is a jelly or not. I don't think it is as sheer as those with jelly finishes though because the more I layer, the less glitters (from underneath) I can see! But it is still on the sheerer side in comparison to other nail polishes, and has a thinner consistency which is ideal for layering! Yay! ^_^ 

Here's a comparison photo with 3 coats and 6 coats (yes! 6 coats!):


So that concludes for the three new Australis Glitter Coats! If you really want these then I'd suggest you wait a few more days until Priceline's new catalogue comes out.. instead of buying them now for the full RRP $7.95!


Which Glitter nail lacquer do you like most from the three?

Will you be looking out for them next time you hit up Priceline/Big W?


Oh, and speaking of Australis.. don't forget to enter my 3 Years Blog Birthday giveaway! Full of Australis products I tell ya!

22 January 2013

Mariah Carey for OPI 2013 -- Liquid Sand Nail Collection Swatches!

So I actually saw a sneak peek of these OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand nail lacquers on Kimmi's blog (The Plastic Diaries) some time last year.. and they sure do look interesting!

To be honest, I actually forgot about them somehow LOL.. until yesterday when I stumbled across Jaci's post of swatches on this collection. The finishes of these nail polishes looked so unique that I knew I just had to try them! However, the shade that stood out most to me is 'Get Your Number'! I don't usually go for blues but it looked beautiful!


When I picked up this mini collection at David Jones for $24.95, I was surprised that 'Get Your Number' looked so dark as it's suppose to be a lighter blue colour according to the many swatches I've seen online by bloggers!


These 'liquid sand' nail lacquers applied to be much lighter than what it seems like in the bottle! Their consistency are thin and they applied nicely just like any other nail polishes, but wasn't too pigmented (took me 3 decent coats for full coverage) and took a little longer than usual to dry. Adding to that, for a fully matte finish, you'd need to wait it out.. It actually doesn't take too long.. I'm just super impatient so for me.. it was like a waiting game! 

As expected, on the nails, it does feel gritty.. somewhat like sandpaper, but not that course so don't you worry! I know that some people definitely will hate the feeling of these nail polishes though! That goes for all you guys who has the habit of stroking your nails... which also includes me... but I really like how unique these lacquers are so I'm dealing with it!

Nuff said. Let's get the swatch awn baby!

Get Your Number

Get Your Number -- described as a 'matte blue with sparkles'. This is my FAVOURITE shade of the bunch! I don't sport blue nail polishes that often because it looks weird on my skin, but this shade is just so pretty and the sparkles makes it.. amazing! Don't you agree?


So, so, so pretty! I think I might have to pick up a full-size of this one!

Can't Let Go

Can't Let Go -- described as a 'matte purple with dazzling sparkles'. Can't Let Go is another beauty of this collection! Although I don't love it as much as 'Get Your Number', it's a lovely cool-toned purple with small hex glitters which looks real girly, but at the same time, I think it just looks so elegant!


I just realised that the order of these swatches are pretty much the order of my most favourite to least favourite!

The Impossible

The Impossible -- described as a 'matte fuchsia with star confetti'. This one's a special one.. Why? Because it has star pieces! However, for my mini nail bottles, the star pieces are nowhere to be seen. I've tried dipping my brush in and out but couldn't fish out any star pieces! Meep!

In photos, The Impossible looks more red-to-pink, but in real life, it is definitely more pink-to-orange. It's the 'pop' member of the collection and sure does look really pretty, but sadly, I'm so over pink and red nails.. which is the only reason why this isn't appealing to me.. at the moment. 


I wished that I could fish out some star confetti pieces to show you guys! Sucks!

Stay The Night

Stay The Night -- described as a 'matte black with red glintz'. This is my least favourite from the collection. It reminds me of a rock.. Pretty odd! 

In the bottle, it looks like a black base with red glitz and glam, but just like the other shades, this also does lighten upon application. It's just as sheer and is more of a dark grey on the nails.


Definitely not a shade that I'd be looking forward to purchase again!

The brushes of these mini nail polishes (that I own) are more 'flared out' so I thought it was a tad harder for me to use. I feel like it would have been easier if they stuck to having regular thin-sized brushes, but overall, I really like these liquid sand nail lacquers for its uniqueness so it's forgivable.


I've read around the web and many have said that these are harder to remove than your regular nail polishes (expected!).. I try to avoid acetone as much as I possibly could so I skipped trialling the removal process of these nail polishes.. If you're wondering, I use peel off base coats so these come off in a blink of an eye.


Are you in for Liquid Sand Nail Lacquers?
Which are your favourite shades from this collection?


I really can't get enough of 'Get Your Number!'.

20 January 2013

Saturday's Swatches: Urban Decay NAKED Palette

First of all, don't mind me for calling this a 'Saturday' post. It was suppose to be up yesterday, but somehow didn't publish as scheduled! Anyways, we all know that this NAKED post itself is pretty late to the party..

By now, you should have already known of the famous NAKED Palette by Urban Decay. It's one of the most well known neutral-eye palette in the beauty world, consisting of 12 wonderful formulated eyeshadows!


In my experience, the eyeshadows are highly pigmented, smooth, soft, silky and non-chalky. Unfortunately, I am not a regular eyeshadow user [at all] so I haven't worn these eyeshadows enough to give you a detailed review of how long-wearing it is..... despite having this in my collection for more than a year already.


On a daily basis, I do reach out for this palette for err.. two shades in particular.


One of them is Virgin (a light ivory with a slight frosty sheen) which I use for highlighting the brow bones, cupid's bow and my nose! Sometimes on my cheekbones too because I just love that very slight frostiness it has which stands out to look like an 'intense highlighter', but isn't [at all] overly shimmery.


Next up is Half Baked is my favourite from the bunch! It's a beautiful metallic coppery gold which I use alone as a sweep over my eyelids to brighten up my eye area... works every time! My eye area instantly looks brighter, less dull and warmer. Brings my eyes back to life... if that doesn't sound too dramatic.


Besides those two, I don't use any other shades from this palette... which, to be honest.. is a waste of a wonderful neutral palette!

I know that some people call this is their perfect neutral palette with the perfect combination of colours and finishes, whereas some say that this palette doesn't have enough mattes for their personal liking.. I can see why though! It only has two matte shades: Naked and Buck. I'm keen to hear your opinion on this!

OH. And and! This palette used to come with a 24/7 Glide-On Eye Liner, but UD decided to change it up back in 2011 so it now comes with a small-sized Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer which makes me wonder...


Do you prefer the NAKED Palette with the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Liner or the UDPP?
Which are your favourite NAKED shades?


I personally prefer the NAKED Palette with their 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner only because I don't wear eyeshadows so eyeshadow primers are unnecessary for me! However, it's quite hard to find affordable eyeshadow primers here in Australia, so with the mini-sized UDPP, it's definitely a bonus for those with oilier eyelids (or struggles with their eyeshadows creasing) and not to mention that a good eyeshadow primer will keep any eyeliner in place!


If you're a keen bean for the Naked Palette, Beauty Bay has it for $AUD55 with free shipping.
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